This invention relates generally to fluid sprinkling and more particularly to snow making towers for ski slopes.
The typical snow making system for ski resorts includes a plurality of snow making towers which are positioned along the ski slope. However, placement of manufactured snow on the ski slope proper, becomes very difficult under varying wind conditions. In order to compensate for this, some snow making towers may be rotated to direct the snow making spray, or a nozzle at the top of the snow tower may be rotated.
For example, FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,391 (Loomis) issued on Jun. 4, 1974 for Method and Apparatus for Making Snow, illustrates a snow tower wherein the tower includes two separated elongated pipes for respectively supplying water and air under pressure to a nozzle at the top thereof for mixing and ejecting the mixture for the manufacture of snow. The nozzle at the top of the tower may be rotated for directional placement of snow through the use of guidelines. The entire system is supported from a pole.
Unfortunately, this particular design is such that in order to effectively manipulate the nozzle, the guidelines must be positioned approximately as high as the tower itself where the guidelines extend from the support pole, and thus the snow tower and the support pole must be substantially equal in height thereby limiting the height of a snow tower usable with the crane type guidance mechanism illustrated. Also, the back pressure from the nozzle discharge is quite large and exceeds the weight of the gun itself, which requires excessively large support structure. Additionally, no convenient mechanism is provided to raise and lower the nozzle tier maintenance or repair.
This prior art structure also does not provide for the possible positioning of the nozzle directly above the support pole, or for aiming the nozzle behind the support pole.
My U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,103 which issued on Apr. 22, 1980 for Adjustable Snow Making Tower discloses the elongated pipe forming the tower as pivotally connected at its bottom to the support pole, so that the tower may be pivoted in a single vertical plane such that the tower may be positioned anywhere from tilting full forward to fully rearward such that the air and water discharge nozzles are even positioned on the back side of the pole. Most any intermediate position between these full forward and full back positions may also be selected In addition, to a very limited extent, the snow making tower can be rotated left or right to a small degree to further assist in positioning the snow placement.
This invention does permit the use of a snow tower conduit which is much taller than the support pole and it does permit greater adjustability in that the nozzles may be positioned at different places in front of the pole or even behind the support pole. However, this adjustable snow making tower and the adjustable snow making tower illustrated in FIG. 6 of Loomis, do not provide any means for swinging or manipulating the entire pipe tower such that it may be additionally rotated in a horizontal plane to wide extremes, even when the pipe tower is pivoted out from the support pole at a relatively large angle such as 45.degree. or more.
The adjustable snow making towers of the prior art, also require the use of a relatively tall support pole which must be anchored at its bottom end into the ground. Such poles are expensive and they require the use of expensive equipment and time consuming labor to raise them and anchor them into the ground.
Also, with portable snow-guns, as opposed to elongated tall snow making pipe towers, they cannot be taken full advantage of because of the fact that they cannot be easily elevated above ground for operation.
In addition, the snow making towers of the prior art cannot be readily and easily lowered to clean ice off of the tower or to replace nozzles or to remove the tower and transfer it to a new location.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an adjustable snow making tower wherein the elongated pipe tower or a snow-gun may not only be elevated and adjusted in a vertical plane at an angle relative to its support pole from between 0.degree., such that it is parallel with the support pole, all the way to the ground or horizontal for repair or maintenance of the nozzles at the top of the pole, but in addition, the entire pipe tower or snow-gun may be pivoted or rotated in a horizontal plane of 360.degree., no matter what vertical position the pipe tower or snow-gun is in relative to its support pole at the time. It is a further object of the present invention to eliminate the disadvantages of the adjustable snow making towers of the prior art hereinbefore described.